10 Misunderstood Road Rules

The NRMA have pinpointed their top 10 misunderstood road rules. The information below is a refresher for all.

1. ROUNDABOUTS:
When exiting a roundabout, whether you are turning left, right or even going straight ahead, you must always indicate a left turn just before you exit, unless it is not practical to do so (when travelling straight ahead on a small single lane roundabout, it may be impractical to indicate left when exiting).

2. GIVING WAY TO PEDESTRIANS:
If a driver is turning left or right at an intersection, the driver must give way to any pedestrian crossing the road the driver is entering. This applies to intersections with and without traffic lights.

3. MOBILE PHONES:
A mobile phone can only be used while driving if it’s secured in a commercially designed and manufactured mounting fixed to the vehicle or operated by Bluetooth technology or voice activation. This includes the navigational or GPS function and audio functions of the device.

4. MERGING:
When a driver is travelling on a road without lane markings and the number of lanes is reduced, they must merge by giving way to any vehicle that is ahead of them. However a driver who is moving from one lane, marked by broken lines (whether or not the lane is ending) to another must give way to any vehicle already travelling in the same direction.

5. KEEPING LEFT:
On roads with a speed limit of more than 80km/h, motorists must not drive in the right-hand lane unless overtaking, turning right or making a U-turn, avoiding an obstacle or driving in congested traffic. If a ‘Keep Left Unless Overtaking’ sign is displayed, then you must keep left regardless of the speed limit.

6. HEADLIGHT AND FOG LIGHT USE:
High beam is not permitted if travelling less than 200 metres behind a car going in the same direction or less than 200 metres from an oncoming vehicle. It is an offence to flash the vehicle’s headlights unless the vehicle is being used to respond to an emergency. A driver is only permitted to use fog lights if driving in fog, mist or other atmospheric condition that restricts visibility.

7. U-TURNS:
When making a U-turn a driver must have a clear view of any approaching traffic and give way to all vehicles and pedestrians.

Drivers are not allowed to make a U-turn across:

A single continuous dividing line;

A single continuous dividing line to the left of a broken line; and

Two Parallel continuous dividing lines.

8. SAFE FOLLOWING DISTANCE:
Drivers should stay three seconds behind vehicles in front of them. In poor conditions such as rain, gravel roads or dim light, it may be necessary to increase the travelling distance to four seconds to increase the crash avoidance space.

9. SCHOOL ZONES:
A school zone is the area around a school with a speed limit of 40km/h normally from 8am to 9.30am and between 2.30pm and 4pm on school days. There are a small number of non-standard school zone times in NSW. These zones are identified by red/orange school zone signs which indicate non-standard times. Signs at these schools display the times which apply.

10. YELLOW TRAFFIC LIGHTS:
A driver approaching traffic lights showing a yellow traffic light must stop if they can do so safely. Penalties apply for drivers who fail to stop at a yellow light, unless it is unsafe to do so.